MS. PERINO: Hi, how is everybody? Two announcements for you. First of
all, the President is pleased that the U.S.-Russian Agreement for
Cooperation in the Field of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy -- also known
as a 123 Agreement -- was signed today in Moscow, Russia. The conclusion
of this agreement, which advances U.S.-Russia non-proliferation and civil
nuclear energy cooperation goals, has been a priority for both President
Bush and President Putin.

In the strategic framework declaration issued in Sochi on April 6, 2008,
the two leaders made clear that this agreement will create the necessary
legal basis for expanded cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
And I'll have a statement that comes out from me a little later on today.

Also today, the U.S. Agency for International Development has allocated an
additional $3 million in funding to help meet the most urgent needs of the
Burmese people. This brings the total U.S. assistance to $3.25 million to
date, which will be allocated by the USAID Disaster Assistance Response
Team -- also known as DART -- that is currently pre-positioned in Bangkok
awaiting permission to enter Burma.

According to the U.N., the most urgent needs of populations in affected
areas include plastic sheeting, water purification tablets, cooking sets,
mosquito nets, emergency health kits, food, and possibly fuel supplies. We
urge the government of Burma to grant full access to the affected areas to
international humanitarian relief teams and nongovernmental organizations
so that they can help provide assistance to those in need.

For Americans who want to assist the people of Burma, we encourage you to
make cash donations to a reputable NGO working in the disaster region.
Nothing will get there faster or help more at this time. And for a list of
those types of NGOs, that can be found on the USAID website.

Q The President said today the United States wants to do a lot more for
Myanmar. Is the $3 million the dimension that he was talking about?

MS. PERINO: Well, it's our best assessment, based on the information that
we have right now for the needs in the area. What we'd like to do is be
able to get our team in there to be able to assess, because they are
experts, to be able to know exactly what type of supplies are needed so
that we're not duplicating efforts and so that relief is getting to the
people who need it in the quickest way possible.

In addition to the $3 million, the other thing that we have in the region
is a Marine expeditionary unit with -- ships there with Naval personnel
that were doing exercises for disaster assistance and disaster relief. So
we have multiple ways that we can support them. This would be our initial
assessment for what we think is the need right now, and we'll continue to
work with the U.N. or any other organization that is allowed into Burma to
try to help the Burmese people.

Q But it's not a condition, is it, that they allow our assessment team
in from the United States?

MS. PERINO: Certainly not. The assistance that we are providing is
needs-based and it's dependent on only us wanting to help them. And if the
unfortunate circumstance comes to pass that our team is not granted the
visas in order to get into the area, we will continue to work out of
Bangkok, and we will work with the U.N. agencies or anyone else who is able
to get there. But certainly the relief that the Burmese people need would
be much better handled if we could get into the country.

Q Is the $3 million a down payment? I mean, is there more to come after
this?

MS. PERINO: I think we just need to see. I think that right now --
remember yesterday we were at $250,000, which was our initial help. And
also, information that we're getting out of Burma is changing. Even today,
the estimated death tolls has climbed dramatically to over 20,000. And so
we just have to continue to assess the best we can. This $3 million will
go a long way, but also if we could get our ships there to be able to help
them, more and more people could be helped.

Q Dana, could you give us an idea how you do assess that? I mean, it
was $250,000 yesterday, and the death toll was staggering then, and it's
far more staggering today. Why you choose $3 million? Just a little bit
about how --

MS. PERINO: I think I would have to refer you to the USAID, who has the
experts who can look at the models and try to figure out what they think is
need, based on what they have.

Q The $3 million is for, as you said, plastic sheeting and other things?

MS. PERINO: Well, that's the best estimate right now that we have, again,
without being able to be there, of what they would need right now. I
understand the World Food Program actually has a shipment of food that was
in the area, in the country. So we're not sure if food is necessarily the
first thing that they need. But we do think that clean drinking water, and
certainly mosquito nets so that we can prevent against the spread of
malaria -- those types of things are what we know. But one of the
problems is, if you can't get there to assess, you're really just guessing.
But we do have experts that have been dealing with these types of
humanitarian disasters for over many periods of years, and so they can get
-- have a good idea of what they think is needed.

Q Dana, can you tell me, is this $3 million cash or is it in supplies?

MS. PERINO: What I know, it's $325 million that is at the USAID DART team,
at their disposal, to be able to use, and they can start using that right
now -- $3.25 million.

Q And do you share the reservations of the French Foreign Minister, who
said today that, frankly, they don't trust Burma's government to spend that
sum of cash wisely?

MS. PERINO: Well, of course we would be concerned, given their past and
the way that they have treated their people, that that would be a concern.
But our focus has to be on how do we help the Burmese people that are
suffering as quickly as possible? And so we're going to do that. And
we're not going to condition -- make that assistance based on any
conditions other than that the President and Mrs. Bush feel very strongly
that the American people should try to help the Burmese people in their
time of need.

Q Dana, speaking of Mrs. Bush, what was the motivation behind having the
First Lady speak out yesterday on Myanmar, instead of the President? Whose
idea was it? And was there any concern at all that one part of that dual
message, the criticism of the military junta, could be hindering the other
part, which was the offer of U.S. aid?

MS. PERINO: No. Mrs. Bush -- it is no surprise that Mrs. Bush feels very
strongly about Burma, and she and the President have been working as
partners on this issue for a long period of time. And we were very happy
to have her here in the briefing room, and I think it sent a really good
message, especially to the people of Burma -- if they got a chance to hear
her, hopefully, through some of the radio programs that they would be able
to hear -- that the United States cares; that we want them to live in
freedom and democracy and justice -- have justice for their citizens. And
we'd be happy to have her in the briefing room any time she would like to
come.

Q So, in other words, because she has spoken out in the past, you felt
it was appropriate for her to carry that message on yesterday?

MS. PERINO: I cannot see any reason why it would be inappropriate for the
First Lady of the United States to grace the press briefing room with her
presence.

Q But, again, any concern that by -- because she did criticize the junta
-- that that would in any way deter them from accepting U.S. aid?

MS. PERINO: Our position about the way that they have governed has been
very clear. That was not the first time that Mrs. Bush or anyone in the
federal government has expressed that concern. And, in fact, if you look
back over a period of the last couple of years, those public statements
have been made in a variety of ways and a variety of places. I can
remember one in the Diplomatic Reception Room, as well. So, no concern
that our position would be -- that our position would change, or that they
should think that just because Mrs. Bush came here, that we're sending a
different message.

That message was about the referendum. It so happened that the referendum
and this cyclone happened to coincide. And Mrs. Bush felt it was important
to let the people of Burma know that we care about them, we are worried
about their health and their safety, and we want them to have a brighter
future, which is why we're providing the assistance that we are.

Q Can I just follow -- quick one.

MS. PERINO: Quickly.

Q The best way -- like Mr. Wendell said, that you cannot trust the
Burmese government -- like you said in the past also, history. The best
way is that China is very close, or the military junta in Burma is close to
China because they are the ones supplying all the weapons and all that
against innocent people. So have you sent the clear message to China today
that this is a time -- that time has come for a democracy in order to help
the victims, and --

MS. PERINO: We talked to China about that. We have talked about that with
them before. You will have to call USAID and find out what sort of
coordination they are doing -- or State Department. I will say that -- I
know that the Indian government has been wanting to send ships there. But
again, people who are willing to help and provide humanitarian assistance
are not being received yet in Burma, and we really hope that they would
change their mind, because we do want to help out of a deep desire to help
the people who are suffering.

Want to stay on Burma, anybody? No? Okay, go ahead.

Q Senator Obama said that food rise prices -- rising food prices around
the globe is because of ethanol and all that. And now he's sending a clear
message to the White House, which is the federal government, that now they
should rethink that people need to eat -- food to eat, not ethanol at this
time.

MS. PERINO: We've been talking about this for the past several days. I
would refer you to the briefing yesterday where Scott Stanzel handled that
question, and I'm not going to get myself involved in the '08 politics.

Peter.

Q How is the administration going to respond to this House push for a
subpoena of the Vice President's Chief of Staff?

MS. PERINO: Well, I understand that David Addington issued a letter last
week in which he said he would be responding to the committee, and I know
that he will do so. And I'm going to refer you to the office of the Vice
President --

Q So is he going to testify?

MS. PERINO: I'd refer you to him for more. They -- the office of the Vice
President's Press Secretary can handle that.

Q Don't hold your breath.

Q They don't tell you what they're doing?

MS. PERINO: Look, the subpoena was just served. He said he would respond
appropriately, and I'm sure he will.

Bill.

Q The head of the National Institutes of Mental Health says that it's
possible that the number of suicides among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan
may turn out to be greater than the number who actually die in combat. And
at least two senators say that the VA has withheld the actual number of
suicides and attempted suicides, and have called for the resignation of the
VA's Director of Mental Health. What's your reaction?

MS. PERINO: Well, I'm aware of the hearing today where the Department of
Veterans Affairs Secretary Peake was answering questions about this very
thing today. And I'm sure that you are covering that, as well. President
Bush is very concerned about the mental health of our veterans and has made
sure that we are doing everything we can to make sure that American
veterans are getting the care that they need.

He's also been very troubled by the idea that veterans would feel that they
wouldn't be able to express or ask for help if they are suffering from Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder or depression of another sort, or any type of
mental disorder, because we have resources to be able to help them and they
deserve the very best that we could provide. So he would encourage -- he
was encouraged that Secretary Peake was testifying today to let people know
that that is where our position is. And I would refer you to Department of
Veterans Affairs for more on the statistics.

Q Well, has the White House or the Pentagon been aware of the
possibility that the VA has been withholding the statistics on the number
of suicides and attempted suicides?

MS. PERINO: We're aware of the accusations and I do believe Secretary
Peake answered those today.

Q Well, what is the answer?

MS. PERINO: I would refer you to -- nobody was covering it, so I wasn't
able to see it directly.

Q Well, I mean, what is the response from here? I mean, what are you
going to direct people to do about it?

MS. PERINO: Well, the President has full confidence in Secretary Peake and
believes that he is handling it appropriately.

Q What about the head of the mental health services at the VA?

MS. PERINO: Well, again, he works for Secretary Peake and I'll refer you
to them.

Q What's the White House position going to be on the Democrats' idea of
including unemployment benefit extensions in the supplemental?

MS. PERINO: Well, remember that right now -- in fact, just last week, we
had mixed reports on the economy, and one of them was the unemployment rate
remains relatively low by historic standards, at 5.0 percent, recognizing
that some people are on unemployment for longer than they would like. And
we're aware of that. The stimulus checks are going into effect right now.
We believe that by the end of the year that those will create an estimated
additional 500,000 jobs in our country. So hopefully that will alleviate
the pressure for anyone who's looking for a job.

And I think the one thing we have to consider is -- we hear calls for a
second stimulus package -- the one thing that I think is important is to,
first of all, let the first stimulus package have a chance to take effect.
And those checks have just started going out, as we've been telling you.
But also it's very important, if you look back to the first stimulus
package that we did, one of the tests that everybody agreed to was that it
had to be stimulative. It had to have a stimulative effect on the economy.
And one of the things that they could do right away to help stimulate the
economy is pass the agreed-upon Colombia free trade agreement, because that
would level the playing field for our workers.

And so if we want to have a stimulative effect on the economy, we know how
to do that. But we would be curious as to what a second stimulus package,
how that would stimulate the economy. And I think that that is a test that
would have to be met, if we get to the point where we would need one. Our
position right now is that we have a stimulus package that is just going
into effect, and we want to let it take root.

Q The Democrats are talking about it in the House, including it in the
supplemental, the Iraq supplemental.

MS. PERINO: We feel strongly that the Iraq war supplemental should remain
for national security needs. We understand that there could be debates on
other issues, such as unemployment benefits and food stamps, other issues
that are important to a lot of people. But those issues can be taken up
separate from our national security needs in the Iraq war supplemental.

Matt.

Q Dana, you mentioned the calls that have come out for a second stimulus
package. Speaker Pelosi issued another one of those calls today, but she
also said in the process that the President has for a long time been in
denial about the state of the economy. Any response to her?

MS. PERINO: For everybody in this room who has been covering the
President, who regularly talks about the economy, you know that he is well
aware of our situation in the economy, and in fact has called it very
straight and been very transparent about the forecasts that we've seen, and
taken action to make sure that we are alleviating the slowdown, alleviating
the pressure on people who are having a harder time right now in our
economy. And we do believe that the pro-growth policies that we've put in
place will have the effect that we're looking for, which is more jobs, more
business incentives, and more development.

And so there's ways that we can do that in our -- with the United States
Congress. One of them is passing the Colombia free trade agreement. And
we have a deal that is on the table, and unfortunately, she decided to
renege on that deal. And we would ask her to change her position on that
if she really wants to help workers in this country.

Q Dana, I just wanted to return quickly to clarify something about the
aid going to Myanmar.

MS. PERINO: Okay.

Q Yesterday it was made pretty clear that any aid would go not to the
Myanmar government, but would, in fact, be funneled through international
agencies and World Food Program. Is any of this new $3 million in aid
going to go directly to the hands of the government?

MS. PERINO: I don't believe so. I think that the -- well, the DART team
is allowed to make decisions based on what they think that they need, and
they can work with NGOs and try to spend that money appropriately. So I'd
refer you to them on exactly how they're going to do that. They just got
this $3 million package so that they can start working and figuring out
what they need. But, again, they are hindered by the fact that they aren't
exactly sure what is needed.

Q So, Dana, let me clarify that. So they're hindered by -- they don't
know whether they can get in. So getting that money quickly into the area,
are they making plans now to go through World Food Program or something
else? I mean, it seems like the need is so great immediately, what are
they doing now?

MS. PERINO: That is our major concern. That's our major concern, Martha.
If we can't get there, we can't help them. And the Burmese government
isn't at a place right now where they are capable of taking care of their
population in the aftermath of this humanitarian disaster. And so I'd
refer you to USAID on how they're going to do that. They just got the
money.

Q But I think World Food Program is getting some sort of money or food
in there at this point.

MS. PERINO: Well, I think the food is already there. And my point is that
if they already -- that's one of the things that this team can do. You
don't want to duplicate efforts, so if they already have -- if the World
Food Program already has food available there, the last thing you want to
do is spend this $3 million on food when what they really need is first-aid
supplies or health care kits or mosquito nets. And that's what this team
is going to try to continue to assess. They can do their best at guessing,
but if they can't get in we're going to have a harder time helping people.

Q And so until they can assess where it's needed, it's going to sit
there?

MS. PERINO: Not necessarily -- no, I don't think that that's necessarily
true. I know that we're trying to work with the U.N., but I think the U.N.
relief agencies still have not been granted access to the area. So they'll
be working hard. They are experts at this, they know how to go around a
system in order to try to help people directly. And I'll refer you to
USAID for more -- Henrietta Fore's office.

Olivier.

Q Dana, a Georgian minister -- whose name I won't butcher here -- says
that Russia is trying to provoke Georgia into war with its troop
deployments out of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Is there a concern here
that Russia is trying to provoke a military conflict? What's the status on
that?

MS. PERINO: I do have an answer for you on that. In recent days and
weeks, as you have been reporting, the Russian government has taken what we
would call provocative action, which have increased tensions with Georgia
over its separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. And these
include -- the Russian government's, first of all, unilateral withdrawal
from Commonwealth of Independent States economic and military sanctions;
April 16th presidential instructions increasing Russia's relations with
Georgia's separatist regions; a Russian aircraft shoot-down of an unarmed
Georgian, unmanned UAV -- aerial vehicle -- in Georgian airspace; and
Russia's unilateral decision to deploy a large number of Russian forces and
equipment to the peacekeeping mission in Abkhazia.

These steps have significantly and unnecessarily heightened tensions in the
region, and run counter to Russia's status as a facilitator of the U.N.
Friends process on Abkhazia.

In contacts with both the Russian and Georgian governments at the highest
level, the United States has firmly reiterated our support for Georgia's
territorial integrity, and strongly urged Russia to de-escalate and reverse
its measures. We have urged the Georgian government to continue to refrain
from any military measures, and pursue a political settlement to its
separatist conflicts. We again call on the Russian government to reiterate
its commitment to Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty, to
reverse its unilateral measures in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and to cease
from further provocations.

We also call on Russia to actively support direct meetings between the
Abkhaz authorities and the Georgian government in an effort to reduce
tensions, and advance a permanent peaceful resolution of the conflict,
which provides the people of Abkhazia with a path toward a more secure,
prosperous future within a unified and democratic Georgia.

Q When you say "at the highest levels," how about "the" highest level?

MS. PERINO: In terms of from the President --

Q -- you just talked about, between --

MS. PERINO: -- I'm not aware of a phone call.

Q Thank you, Dana. Two questions. A Washington Post editorial this
morning denounced the Peace Corps for getting rid of a 25-year-old male who
has become HIV-positive. Does the President believe, as does the Post and
the ACLU, that this was wrong of the Peace Corps to do?

MS. PERINO: I don't know the details of the particular case. I do
understand that the Peace Corps does not have a policy of automatically
excluding people with HIV. And the Peace Corps does conduct individualized
medical assessments of all volunteers and applicants, including those who
are HIV-positive. And the Peace Corps would have more information for you.

Q Does the White House know of any demands from the Post or the ACLU
that our armed forces not discharge those who contract AIDS?

MS. PERINO: No.

Connie.

Q Thank you. On the ongoing Middle East peace talks, I've heard
criticism -- there's been criticism that this administration is pushing too
hard to get two Palestinian -- or two states before the administration runs
out. Do you have any response to that kind of criticism?

MS. PERINO: We hear all sorts of criticism, that we're pushing too hard
and not pushing hard enough. The President is looking forward to going to
the region next week; Secretary Rice has been in the region, and trying to
work with both the Palestinians and the Israelis to help them come together
and continue to work. A lot of that work is done behind the scenes, and a
lot of it is not done in the public eye. So some people might criticize us
for not doing enough, while others would criticize us for doing too much.

We think that this is a problem that the Israelis and the Palestinians have
an opportunity to solve. And the President looks forward to going there
next week, and he'll not only be having the meetings in Israel, but also in
Sharm-el-Sheikh.

Helen.

Q Yesterday, according to The New York Times, we dropped a bomb on a
home in Sadr City and burned alive a pregnant woman and her children. How
long is the siege of Sadr -- how long are we going to keep bombing Iraqis?

MS. PERINO: Well, I'm not aware of that particular report. I have not --
I've not seen it.

Q Well, it was pretty buried in the story.

MS. PERINO: Okay. Well, the operation against the militias in Sadr City
will continue until they root them out. And that is expressly in order to
protect people like you just mentioned.

Q Root who out, Iraqis, in their own country?

MS. PERINO: It is Prime Minister Maliki's government which is going after
the militia, which is appropriate.

Q Why are we bombing these people?

MS. PERINO: Any time anyone that is an innocent civilian is hurt in a
conflict, we obviously regret it, and we go out of our way to make sure it
doesn't happen.